We have witnessed dramatic changes in the office environment, the delivery of legal services, and the city over the past 30 years. We might get a better feel for these changes from someone who has "been there." Helen (Smith) Hodgson retired from Kramer Rayson at the end of February. She was hired in 1967 as a secretary, and she became their Office Manager in 1974. Helen and I met recently and discussed a few of the changes she has experienced.

When Helen began working downtown, you could park your car for free (you would have to walk a distance, but free spaces were available). You could buy your groceries on your lunch hour at the White Stores. You could shop at several department stores (The Knox, Millers, Penneys, Watsons). You could buy shoes (Mavis, Thom McAnn), prescriptions (Todd & Armistead), furniture (Fowlers, Woodruffs), and visit the dime store (Woolworth). In fact, she said you could spend your entire pay check on your lunch hour. There were many eating establishments available, including Krystal, Blue Circle, S&W Cafeteria, Nan Dentons, Brass Rail, Chubby’s, The Garden, Millers Grill, and Peroulas.

Secretaries were required to take shorthand because no electronic dictation equipment was available. Dress was more formal - ladies wore dresses and when gentlemen went to court it was not unusual for them to wear a hat. Overtime was needed only on a rare occasion. When the telephone rang, the receptionist would plug a line into the switchboard to answer and connect the parties. When a staff position was available, firms would call the Department of Employment Security for resumes. An applicant might be asked such questions as "Are you married?" and "Do you plan to have children?" A complex case might consist of three file folders in a bucket file. Helen recalls the time an attorney needed four originals of a contract. She asked four secretaries to each type one original! Carbon paper was used for copies. Their first electronic dictation equipment was a Lanier Tank. That took some getting used to!!

The most obvious change has been in the field of technology. In 1967 Helen never thought that staff would be creating documents on computers. Their first computer was so big it occupied almost an entire room. She also never imagined that attorneys would be taking laptops to the courthouse, or communicating with their clients through e-mail, faxing from their desk, or using voice recognition dictation equipment. This advance in technology has allowed us to do so much more in a shorter period of time; in addition, it has increased our work load and our stress level. Societal changes dictate that we continue to do more. Expectations for a member of the legal support staff are high. It takes a special person to be able to manage the work load and consistently perform well.

Of all the changes which have occurred regarding employee benefits, Helen says the institution of retirement plans is the greatest addition. She also added that the increase in salaries which has occurred has made support staff positions much more attractive. In fact, Helen recalls her monthly salary in 1967 was $325!!

Isn’t it fun to look back!! Those of you who have been in the legal community 30 or more years may have chuckled reading this, and those of you who are newer to the profession probably wondered how in the world we were able to function with such limited electronic resources.

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